anti-government rebel fighters attacking a government base, and we are learning the international envoy seeking a solution to in this 21-month-old conflict is saying political change is needed immediately to end the violence which has already killed an estimated 44,000 people. leland vittert live for us from our mideast bureau with the latest on this. leland? >> reporter: harris, the peace envoy is trying to bring back a plan that was dead on arrival back in june. it doesn't look like there's any budging from either side. president assad still says that he is going to stay on and continue to fight there inside syria. the rebels say they will accept nothing short than the regime falling, all this amid the rebels continuing to make more and more advances, continuing to close the noose, if you will, on the battlefield especially around president assad's stronghold there in the capital of damascus. russia, though, is continuing to protect syrian president bashar al assad. obviously, that is the transitional plan that something along the lines of what the rebels would endorse would have assa